The Scientific Revolution 1550-1700

Admission requirements

MA Philosophy 60 EC: specialisation History and Philosophy of the Sciences

MA Philosophy 120 EC: specialisation Philosophy of Natural Sciences

MA Philosophy 120 EC: specialisation Philosophy of Psychology

Description

Western knowledge and understanding of the natural world changed between 1550 and 1700. This period is conventionally called the “scientific revolution”. From one perspective, this period witnessed the development of many concepts used in present-day science, such as the concepts of law of nature, experiment, force, and planet, as well as the idea of modern science itself. From another perspective, however, the concerns and activities of natural philosophers of this period strike us as strange. In part, this strangeness is related to the social contexts in which they worked. In this course, we will switch repeatedly between the perspectives of familiarity and unfamiliarity to gain a fuller understanding of how people knew nature in early-modern Europe.

Course objectives

A student who has successfully completed this course is able to:

describe the state of the European sciences around 1550;

provide a narrative of the principal changes in the European sciences between 1550 and 1700;

Assessment method

Assessment

Weighing

The final mark for the course is established by determination of the weighted average of several subtests.

Resit

One resit will be offered, covering the entire course content and consisting of a paper. The grade will replace previously earned grades for subtests. Class participation and practical assignments (presentations) are mandatory requirements for taking the tests and resit. Students who have obtained a satisfactory grade for the first examination(s) cannot take the resit.

Exam review

How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.